The road back from that scary line drive off his skull turned out to be a lot longer than J.A. Happ anticipated, but now that he’s preparing for a start Wednesday afternoon against the Mariners, he’s ready to put all that frustration behind him.

When Happ was last on a major-league mound at Tampa on May 8, he was struck down by a vicious line drive off the bat of Desmond Jennings of the Rays, fracturing his skull. As he went down, Happ also strained two ligaments in his right knee. It turned out that the knee damage was slower to heal than Happ’s head.

Three months later, Happ still needs to wear a knee brace

“I don’t know what (the club’s) timeframe was,” Happ said on Tuesday. “But in my mind, at first it was two weeks, then three weeks, then four-to-six and then six-to-eight, so it just kept jumping. The most frustrating thing was that I wasn’t able to turn a corner when I was hoping I would.”

The skull fracture healed quickly, with no residual effects.

“It’s something I could have pitched through if the knee wasn’t an issue,” he said.

Just a couple of weeks after Happ’s scary moment, Tampa pitcher Alex Cobb was hit by an eerily similar line drive.

“We exchanged some text messages,” said Happ, of Cobb. “I’m happy to hear that he’s doing better and on his way back. He had more concussion symptoms than I did so that’s scary but I’m glad to know he’s doing better now.”

“We’re just trying something different,” Gibbons said. “It’s been a battle for (Johnson), maybe there will be something good come of it. Who knows?”

In his most recent eight starts, Johnson had only lasted 37.1 innings and allowed 37 earned runs.

MAKING THE PLAYS

Blue Jay outfielders were on the field early on Tuesday going through some throwing drills as the coaching staff tries to reverse the trend of errant throws that has plagued them this season.

“We were throwing to bases and everybody did a good job today,” Gibbons said. “It’s just about making plays. We’re fully capable of making all the plays.

“Hitting comes and goes, pitching can be off but playing good defence is something you have to do all the time. There will be mistakes from time to time but for the most part, we have to make all the plays behind our pitchers.”

AT HOME ON THE ROAD

The Jays went into the second game in Seattle with a 4-4 record on this west coast swing, with two games still to play, though there’s some question if these are Blue Jays road games or not.

The size of the Canadian contingent here to cheer on the Jays has turned Safeco Field into a haven for the Jays

“The general thinking is you’ve got hold your own on the road and play really well at home,” said Gibbons, who is used to seeing support from Vancouver at games in Seattle.

“This was definitely more, and louder than I’ve ever seen here,” he said. “There has always been a good (Canadian) turnout here but nothing like this. Over time, you can get a little immune to that stuff but last night, I think it gave us a jolt.”

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Blue Jays starter is Happ-y to be back

The road back from that scary line drive off his skull turned out to be a lot longer than J.A. Happ anticipated, but now that he’s preparing for a start Wednesday afternoon against the Mariners, he’s ready to put all that frustration behind him.

When Happ was last on a major-league mound at Tampa on May 8, he was struck down by a vicious line drive off the bat of Desmond Jennings of the Rays, fracturing his skull. As he went down, Happ also strained two ligaments in his right knee. It turned out that the knee damage was slower to heal than Happ’s head.

Three months later, Happ still needs to wear a knee brace

“I don’t know what (the club’s) timeframe was,” Happ said on Tuesday. “But in my mind, at first it was two weeks, then three weeks, then four-to-six and then six-to-eight, so it just kept jumping. The most frustrating thing was that I wasn’t able to turn a corner when I was hoping I would.”